Tag Archives: No H8

As I’m sure you’ve heard, Proposition 8 was overruled!! Of course, I’m totally overjoyed, and on a personal note, I think it’s extremely appropriate that it happened right after I finished Queer as Folk! Judge Walker of the 9th Circuit District Court rejected Proposition 8, citing it unconstitutional!

I particularly like what he said here:

“Plaintiffs do not seek recognition of a new right. To characterize plaintiffs’ objective as “the right to same-sex marriage” would suggest that plaintiffs seek something different from what opposite-sex couples across the state enjoy — namely, marriage. Rather, plaintiffs ask California to recognize their relationships for what they are: marriages.”

Judge Walker also pointed out several ‘findings’ related to gay marriage, which he included in his 136-page ruling. You can find all of them here, as well as the entirety of his ruling here. In my mind, these are common sense, but I appreciate him pointing them out nonetheless. I know that many people will continue to simply cling to what they already believe, and accepting a new idea is difficult (As Inception so gracefully pointed out), but I think it’s time for the next frontier on gay rights. Once people realize that gay people are human, and are Americans, just like they are, I hope we can put this whole issue to bed. Moreover, I believe the ignorance and intolerance of homosexuality stems almost entirely from fear of the unknown. I have yet to hear a convincing argument against marital rights for gays, and no, I don’t accept the “it’s always been between a man and woman” argument. It’s always been a lot of things that aren’t anymore!

Anyways. Here are Walker’s ‘findings’ that stood out for me:

“The availability of domestic partnership does not provide gays and lesbians with a status equivalent to marriage because the cultural meaning of marriage and its associated benefits are intentionally withheld from same-sex couples in domestic partnerships.”

“Permitting same-sex couples to marry will not affect the number of opposite-sex couples who marry, divorce, cohabit, have children outside of marriage or otherwise affect the stability of opposite-sex marriages.”

Now, for some fun — check out this hilarious clip from a couple years back, “Prop 8 – The Musical” 🙂

Yep, that is in fact Cindy McCain posing in duct tape for the NO H8 campaign. I find it impressive that she’s standing up for gay marriage rights, and at the same time, slightly ironic. By no means do I conclude that if a male presidential candidate has a stance on an issue, his wife must have the same. John McCain has said in several interviews, i.e. on the Ellen Degeneres show and in D.C’s gay newspaper The Washington Blade, “I support the effort in California to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman” (source). Now, of course, Mrs. McCain might have simply disagreed with him. But why didn’t she express her beliefs regardless of his stance? Throughout the campaign, she appeared to me like an emotionless droid, and I think this support for gay marriage would have given more depth to her identity as potential first lady. Did she too fear the pundits who’d say she went “rogue”? Perhaps this photoshoot would have prompted more people to give serious thought to her husband’s name on the ticket. And it would have been the kind of “rogue” that millions would have appreciated and not mocked like another roguette.